Monday, August 8, 2011

Third Anniversary!

Tammy and I on our wedding day, married in my grandmother's backyard on 08/08/08 at 8:08 p.m.

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As some of you may already know, we both came from failed first marriages. Others may also know that we developed our relationship on MySpace--first as poets and only much later as an item. In fact, we're both pretty similar, so we both thought that there was no way it would ever work between us.

For starters, we both lived in different states. It's hard enough to keep a new relationship going when you can see each other frequently; we had to start ours 500 miles apart and with months between visits.

Next, we both had crazy financial difficulties--in part because of our failed marriages, but also in part because we didn't manage our finances the correct way. It's hard to travel 500 miles to see each other when drowning in debt.

And there were other obstacles as well. I'll be nice and not go into them here, but despite everything that was thrown in our way, Tammy and I overcame them, and we overcame them together.

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Tammy and I in NYC, early in our courtship.

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Let me share a story with you about the first weekend Tammy and I actually met. I wanted to take her somewhere in the Dayton-area that was really cool, so we went to Yellow Springs. After checking out some of the shops downtown, we wandered into Glen Helen and let ourselves get lost. We wandered around those trails for hours and even went off the trails--eventually coming across a heart-shaped stone covered in moss and a field filled with flowers.

The thing that made our adventure so great wasn't what we actually found as much as both of us willing to get lost with each other. During the years since, a lot has changed. We've welcomed two new wonderful children to the world in Will and Hannah. We've tackled a lot of our financial woes. Oh yeah, and we both live in the same state (which helps with the whole marriage thing). However, one thing has not changed: We still both are not only willing but enjoy getting lost with each other.

Check out a favorite trail hiking book of both Tammy and myself:A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. It's all about his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail with a friend who was totally not ready. Bryson really captures the rugged feel of the AT while also making you laugh at himself, his hiking partner and others who literally cross their path.